Is Menopause a Disease? And Why Your Age Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

Have you ever been told you're too young for menopause?

Or maybe you've heard:

“That's just aging.”“Everyone goes through it.”“You just have to deal with it.”

I don't believe those answers are good enough.

One of the questions I hear is:

“What are the menopause ages?”

And honestly, my answer is: there isn't one specific age.

I have patients in their 20s and 30s experiencing hormonal changes. Menopause happens when the ovaries run out of eggs and a woman stops cycling. That doesn't happen at exactly the same age for every woman.

I'm going to treat the woman in front of me not a number on her birth certificate.

So, is menopause a disease?

This is a question that gets very different answers depending on who you ask.

If you ask me, as a functional medicine provider and hormone-certified expert, my answer is yes.

I consider menopause a disease state because it is a state of deficiency.

Throughout your life, your hormones are sending signals throughout your body. When you reach menopause and your ovaries stop producing those hormones in the same way, your body is no longer receiving many of the signals it has relied on for decades.

And those signals affect much more than your menstrual cycle.

They influence things like:

• Cholesterol

• Weight regulation

• Brain function

• Libido

• Energy

• Sleep

• Mood

• Sexual health

• And many other systems throughout the body

This is why I don't look at menopause as simply “You stopped having your period.”

There is much more happening physiologically.

Your age doesn't tell me everything I need to know.

I don't want a woman sitting across from me thinking “I'm only 38. There's no way this could be hormones.”

Or:

“I'm 52, so I guess I just have to accept feeling terrible.”

Neither assumption gives us the full picture.

Perimenopause can begin years before a woman reaches menopause, and the timing varies from woman to woman.

That's why I look at you.

Your symptoms.Your history.Your cycle.Your lifestyle.Your health goals.Your overall health.

I'm not interested in putting you into a box simply because you're a certain age.

So what should you pay attention to?

If something about the way you feel has changed, don't ignore it simply because someone tells you it's “normal.”

Maybe you're exhausted when you never used to be.

Maybe you're waking up throughout the night.

Maybe your libido has disappeared.

Maybe your body composition has changed despite doing the things that used to work.

Maybe your mood feels different.

Maybe you're experiencing symptoms that are affecting your confidence, your relationships, your work or your ability to enjoy your life.

Those changes deserve a conversation.

That doesn't mean every symptom is automatically menopause. It means we should understand what's happening instead of making assumptions.

Normal doesn't mean you have to suffer.

This is something I want women to hear over and over again.

Menopause may be a normal biological transition, but that doesn't mean you have to accept feeling like a different person.

You don't have to simply “tough it out.”

You don't have to assume that because you're getting older, every change you're experiencing is something you have to live with.

And you don't have to wait until your symptoms become unbearable before asking questions.

My job is to look at the woman sitting in front of me and help her understand what may be happening in her body.

You are not a number. You are not a protocol. And you are not “just aging.”

You deserve individualized care that considers your symptoms, your history, your goals and the outcomes you want for your health.

If you're experiencing changes and wondering whether hormones could be part of the picture, let's figure out what's going on.

Visit Anderson Integrative Medicine to learn more about personalized hormone and functional medicine care.